Tim Atkin MW (98)

Concentration is easy to achieve in Argentina,” says Alberto Antonini, “but texture is much harder.” All I can say is that he has succeeded here on this best-ever release from Altos Las Hormigas, which brings Burgundian levels of grace and complexity to Malbec. Scented, hauntingly graceful and complex with remarkable focus and depth, a hint of oak, sweet red fruits and a lingering finish. Exceptional winemaking.

James Suckling (98)

This is a phenomenal malbec with intense blue fruits such as blueberries and blackberries. Black truffle, too. Full-bodied, bright and juicy with fantastic power and richness. Yet the acidity just keeps going. Volcanic salt and white peppers. A thoroughly breathtaking wine. Try after 2020.

Wine Advocate (98)

The single-vineyard Sorte O Soro had not been produced since 2016, and the 2019 Sorte O Soro is the next vintage after that. This plot has always shown additional elegance, freshness and salinity since he started vinifying it in 2004, because of the altitude (710 meters above sea level) and the north exposure to the Bibei Valley, where the old clone is planted on fine granite sand and quartz soils. Like As Sortes, this Sorte also fermented and matured with lees in new 500-liter French oak barrels for eight months. It has 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.12 and higher acidity (at 7.5 grams) than the rest of the 2019s. It feels very harmonious, elegant and nuanced with some creaminess, with notes of wet pollen and yellow flowers. The palate reflects the soil, with vibrant granite and very fine sand and electric quartz (saline), and it's also round and powerful from the clone that is planted in the vineyard. This vineyard is in the process of being organically and biodynamically certified. 2,240 bottles were filled in September 2020. I tasted the 2019s and 2020s from Rafa Palacios in Valdeorras. For him, these are two very good years. 2019 had a mild and dry winter and a rainy and cold spring that delayed budding, followed by a mild summer with fewer hours of sunshine, which meant a delay in the ripening process. Harvest was more than one month later than usual, and the grapes achieved very slow ripening and full development of aromas and flavors while keeping the acidity. The harvest started in October and finished in November. It's a beautiful, homogeneous vintage with very good wines. 2020 saw a moderately cool and rainy winter and a dry and cold spring that resulted in 20% less bunches than in 2019. The summer was also quite dry but, fortunately, not too hot. Given the low yields, maturation was accelerated, and the harvest began at the beginning of September for Louro and from September 25th for As Sortes. Given the scarce water, the plants had to work harder deep down into the soil, which marked the wines; the silica and quartz from the sandy soils of O Bolo shaped a saline identity and the wines achieved a lot of elegance and balance. It's a more heterogeneous vintage, and the higher-altitude vineyards behaved better. The 2020 O Soro is out of this world. He gave me a quick preview of the very cold 2021, a vin de garde vintage but a challenging year with a lot of rain. They are in the process of certifying their vineyards (organic and biodynamic), but they have some problems in the vineyards with neighbors who are not organic, so it will probably be faster for O Soro and Sorte Antiga.

Decanter (98)

Sampled from a vat, this is one of the best As Sortes I have ever tasted, comparable to the iconic 2011. It's a prodigy of subtleness and elegance. Everything is firmly delicate in this wine. Restrained aromas open up parsimoniously, with a steely structure like a great Burgundy, but with flinty acidity almost like Grosses Gewächs from Rheingau. Despite the fact that the sample was not yet bottled, the wine had no oak influence, just the indication that it had been aged, as top Godello must. Rafael Palacios is refining his work year after year, reaching the magic of the greatest wines. A top wine, and one to keep.

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2015 O Diviso felt closed, more reticent, and seems more powerful, despite the fact they did a nonextractive vinification; they did nothing and let the wine ferment at its own pace. This matured in one 600-liter oak barrel, and this is the only red that has a slight note from the oak. There is also a relevant amount of Garnacha Tintorera, so the combination of a warm year, the small barrel and the varietal mix resulted in a more austere and backward wine that is going to require more time in bottle. The fruit is darker and the wine is more powerful than the 2014. It might evolve with time in bottle, because it certainly has the stuffing to do so, but today As Caborcas was singing, and I have to give it the edge. 895 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2016.

James Suckling (98)

What a nose, garnering complexity and depth. A wide spectrum of aromas that range from blackberries and blueberries to graphite, tree bark and wet earth. A medium-to full-bodied red, showing so much fleshy fruit and powerful, chalky tannins. But never imposing nor flattering. Impeccable poise, with a long, tight finish. This is the kind of wine that you can drink now or lay down for two decades. Better from 2025.

Wine Advocate (100)

I was blown away by the 2016 Finca Piedra Infinita, a wine I have been anticipating because I’ve seen the progression of the wine over the last few years. They use almost 40 different components to make this wine from small plots within the vineyard, especially the soils they call "supercalcáreo" (super limestone). The other type of soil they use is what they call "gravas calcáreas" (limestone gravels), and they don’t use any of the grapes from the deeper soils that go into the Q range. The wine has reached a stratospheric level of precision, symmetry and elegance in 2016 that is really captivating. Everything seems to be in its place; there is great harmony, the aromatics are clean and pure and the texture is like liquid chalk. There is power and elegance, energy and finesse. This is a really outstanding wine that summarizes the hard work at Zuccardi in the last few years. Bravo! 6,400 bottles were filled in February 2017.

Wine Advocate (98)

They use some specific soils for the 2017 Finca Piedra Infinita, up to eight different plots, but not all plots contribute to the wine every vintage; in general, the zones with 20 to 60 centimeters of soil and then large stones with calcium carbonate are reflected in the wines. So, they deconstruct the vineyard, and then they build the blend with the plots they like for each wine, up to eight here but only a specific one for the Supercal and Gravascal. There's a little more ripeness and exuberance here within the general austerity of the whole Piedra Infinita range, especially when compared with the 2018s. They harvested 15 to 20 days earlier than in 2018 (or in 2016) and they had to run, but the separation they have by soil helped them to harvest earlier the earlier-ripening parts of the vineyard. That gave them a great advantage and they produced very good 2017s, but the condition of the year, a shorter cycle and a more hurried year was what it was. This 2017 is not as long as the 2018, and there is a strong chalkiness in the finish. 7,300 bottles were filled in August 2018.

James Suckling (99)

Aromas of crushed fruit with mushrooms, dried flowers, ash, charcoal, iodine and bark, following through to a full-bodied palate with superb depth of fruit and layers of polished, fine tannins. Extremely long and seamless. A beauty by all accounts. Complex. Juicy. Supple. Better after 2023, when it will give you all it has stored up in goodness, character and uniqueness.

James Suckling (98)

Such a profound nose with plenty of mineral, wild herb, violet and dark cherry aromas and flavors. Full-bodied on the palate with plenty of seamless and powdery tannins which melt into the fruit. Super pristine, polished and refined. An iron fist in a velvet glove. Muscular but intellectual. Better after 2025.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2017 Finca Piedra Infinita Gravascal is produced with fruit from a very balanced plot with some 50 centimeters of soil before reaching the stones and limestone. This half-hectare plot had very low yields, so they had to harvest it very early. The plants here are very balanced, and the wine produced has a marked herbal sensation, always combined with the stoniness. There is less difference between the 2017 and 2018 here than in the other Finca Piedra Infinita wines. This is precise, fresh and harmonious, with very fine chalky tannins and a combination of fruit, spice and minerality that make it really attractive. 1,500 bottles were filled in August 2018.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2018 Finca Piedra Infinita Gravascal has notes reminiscent of some wines from the Northern Rhône, a combination of orange peel, blood and iron, denoting freshness and minerality, with a chalky sensation and a finish that is a mixture of juiciness, stoniness, saltiness and texture. It comes from a 0.51-hectare plot in the Piedra Infinita. The wine fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts and matured in concrete until bottling. I think they have fine-tuned these single-plot wines tremendously since the initial and almost experimental 2015; in this 2018 wine, I found lots of similarities with the Finca Piedra Infinita bottling—it really excels. It finishes with a sapid and salty sensation and marked chalkiness. Finesse, elegance, simply superb! 1,100 bottles were filled in August 2019.

Tim Atkin MW (100)

Red Wine of the Year - Argentina 2022 Special Report If you’d told me I’d be selling an Argentinian wine at this price when I started, I would have laughed at you,” says Sebastián Zuccardi, but this remarkable red is worth every peso and more. Reflecting the hard work and talent of two complementary generations of Zuccardis, Gravascal is as brilliant as it is daring. Entirely concrete-fermented and aged, it’s hauntingly complex stuff, with tangerine and dark berry fruit, thrilling minerality and precision, filigree tannins and a finish that lasts for over a minute. Truly world class, this is one of the two greatest young Argentinian wines I’ve ever tasted.

Wine Advocate (98)

There is a strong iron note in the 2018 Finca Piedra Infinita Supercal, a Malbec from a small plot within Piedra Infinita, usually the first plot to be harvested within Piedra Infinita. It's an extreme plot, very shallow and with pure stone and a strong character. They found this plot in search for "cal," pure limestone, so they want a strong sensation of chalk in the wine here. This is austere, and I think it's more precise than in previous vintages. Only 1,000 bottles were filled in August 2019.

Wine Advocate (100)

I'm splitting hairs here, because the level is so high in the Malbecs from the Piedra Infinita vineyard that it's difficult to say, but the coup de coeur is the 2019 Finca Piedra Infinita Supercal, the single-plot bottling from the shallower soils with lots of rocks covered in calcium carbonate (hence the name: "superlime"). In a cooler year like 2019, this wine achieved a level of precision, austerity, elegance and balance that is amazing. The wine floats in the mouth, with an ethereal quality but with the clout and power from the place. The wine is juicy and fresh with a saline twist in the finish. This is approachable now because of its gobsmacking balance and elegance, but it has all the components and the balance between them to age for a long time in bottle. Bravo! 1,400 bottles were filled in June 2020. They told me that it's always a challenge to decide the picking date for this plot, and they feel they hit the bull's eye in 2019. And rightly so.

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2019 Fósil San Pablo is a Chardonnay from San Pablo that follows the steps of the 2018, with its moderate alcohol and notable acidity and freshness. It comes from grapes planted at 1,400 meters above sea level in the coolest place possible. It's citrusy and has notes of aromatic herbs with restraint. On the palate, it's vibrant and very dry, with marked chalkiness. It's more about the place than the grape. 4,300 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2019.

Vinous (97)

The 2021 Chardonnay Fósil from San Pablo, Uco Valley was 30% aged in 500-liter barrels, the rest in concrete. Yellow in the glass. The nose offers notes of linden blossom, apple, country herbs and a hint of huacatay, a mountain herb. Dry in the mouth with a chalky feel and expansive freshness that brings nuance and depth; the flow is ethereal and saline while the finish lingers at leisure. The conditions that year really helped to dial up the quality, surpassing previous vintages. A complex, refined expression, tight like the best bands and continuing the austere spirit with which Fósil made its name.

Wine Advocate (94)

The 2019 Polígonos Paraje Altamira Malbec is superb. It comes from vines at 1,100 meters in altitude and is somewhere between San Pablo (the lightest) and Gualtallary (the most structured). There's a little more ripeness here, and there are red and blue fruits and less herbal notes. In a way, it's a more classical Malbec, less showy in the nose but with a very interesting palate, juicy and very sapid, almost salty. 19,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2020.